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It’s taken more than two years, but a local theatre company is preparing for the Okanagan premiere of The Great Gatsby.
Bonnie Gratz, director for New Vintage Theatre, decided in 2014 she’d like the company to perform Gatsby in Kelowna. It’s been a whirlwind preparing for opening night since then.
"Work has been happening on these sets for months. We work all hours. My family is always at home working and painting. The level of expertise is really amazing.”
Gratz's husband, Derek, is the set designer and both her sons are helping with painting and construction.
When Gratz isn’t directing, she works as a teacher in Kelowna. She has had the chance to teach English classes where the students were reading The Great Gatsby. She said those classes helped her fall back in love with the story.
One of the most well-known things about the book and the multiple film adaptations is the extravagance that accompanies Gatsby.
"I don't want to give away too many secrets, but there are some incredible things that will happen. I think if people have seen some of our other productions, they will know that we are known for taking something that can be simple and making it look extraordinary."
Gratz said with a performance so lavish, the company has had to do some “very remarkable big wow factor things that people will see in the theatre that will blow their minds.”
Even though most of the money that comes into the hands of the theatre company goes straight to the artists, Gratz said they’ve had to spend extra money on this production’s set.
Unlike a movie, Gratz said theatre is an extraction, which means they can do over the top things with people’s imaginations.
The play is set in the Roaring '20s when New York was the place to be. It was where men drank, gambled and slept with a lot of women. It was when women received rights for the first time, when they took off their corsets, put on flapper dresses and danced until the sun came up.
With women wanting to dress more risque and men wanting to look dapper, costumes for The Great Gatsby have been a focus for Gratz.
New Vintage Theatre teamed up with Angie Bricker, owner of Georgie Girl Vintage in Kelowna.
“She's just such an expert at styling, to begin with. She does a lot of fashion shoots in town. The other part of it is that she's detailed oriented. She knows the time period and what they wore and how they wore it," Gratz said.
Auditions for the play took place in February and the 12-person production has been rehearsing since the May long weekend.
Gratz hopes whoever attends the play will feel like they’ve been transported into the inspiring and empowering city of New York.
"I think people will be thrilled when they see it. It is captivating. It is everything you want good theatre to be. It's exciting, heartbreaking, intense and people are going to love it."
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